All About Akane
by flamingflight
Summary: It's always been about Ranma. Well, screw Ranma. It's about Akane this time.
1. Just A Slight Change

All About Akane

Chapter One: Just A Slight Change

Author's Notes: I know, I really shouldn't do anymore new series before I finished the others but this one begged and called (more like yelled) to be written and I could not ignore it. 

Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Soun and Genma stumbled drunkenly along the dark street, ignorant to the fate that was to become of them. If they had known, they probably would have stayed home and locked their doors as they cowered under their beds...but knowing them, it was more likely they wouldn't have. This was to be quite an eventful night for these two young men and they had absolutely no idea. How absolutely delicious.

"You know, Saotome," the long-haired one said as he clutched the other man's shoulder with one arm and the front of his shirt with the other, "I am quite proud of myself tonight. Three girls! Think of it!"

Genma gave a sneering laugh.

"That's nothing, Tendo!" he exclaimed. "As of tonight, I am the father of a brilliant baby boy."

In response to that, Soun gave a snort and said, "Don't you get too full of yourself. Soon, my wife's going to give me hundreds of sons and they will all carry on the Art." After saying this,, the young man laugh and so hard was his laugh that he stumbled forward (backward was more like it since he was walking backwards). He moved his arms slightly to gain balance but ended up falling on his butt anyway.

Genma was about to say something to Soun when a squeaky voice shouted out, "Get off of me! Get off, you fool!" With wide eyes, the long-haired man did as he was told and standing, the two Martial Artists stared at the little green man that Soun had sat on. It was quite an odd little creature, with blue eyes that had no pupils and seven arms, and had the two men not been so drunk, they would have ran off in fright. As they were so drunk, they just stared at the furious little creature in curiosity.

"You fool!" the creature shrieked but as it was so short, it did not know which one of the fools had sat on it. Naturally to get the answer it needed, the creature questioned suspiciously, "Which one of you sat on me?"

Now, if this had gone on as it was supposed to, Soun would have pushed Genma to the front, all the while whispering in his friend's ear that he would house and feed him his entire life if Genma took the fall. If this had gone on normally, Genma would have agreed and told the creature that it was he that sat and fell on him. If it had gone on as it should, the creature would have cursed Genma's son and everything would have gone on as it was supposed to. 

However, everything did not go as it was supposed to.

The moment before Soun pushed Genma to the front and begged him to take the fall, he had an inkling of conscience. It wasn't a very big conscience and it didn't take more than a moment for him to squash it, but that moment was what had decided everything.

The creature's face turned a dark purple and in outrage it shouted, "Well, if you will not tell me, I shall curse you both!" Both men, realizing their predicament and the full situation (or part of it, whatever, it really does not matter now), started pointing fingers at the other. The creature took no heed to their words. It had decided and reaching inside it's coat, it pulled out what looked like a willow branch.

Walking over it took both the men's hands and smacked each once lightly with the stick.

Through narrowed eyes, the creature said as it back away and disappeared, "The child born this night will have an awfully interesting life."

When the creature had finished fading, Genma and Soun looked at each other...than at their hands before bursting into laughter. That was it?! Grinning, both men clapped a hand around the other's shoulder and strolled down the rest of the walk.

Jeeze, you meet the weirdest people in Nerima.

***

An age three Akane hopped down the stairs with her arms outstretched like an airplane as she shouted, "Kasumi!" At the foot of the stairs, the said sister looked up with innocent eyes.

"Yes, Akane?" she asked. The little three-year old girl laughed as she jumped down the last couple of steps into her older sister's arms. Kasumi gasped in shock for a second before pushing Akane off her.

"Akane-chan!" she cried out, but she could not keep the smile from gracing her lips.

"Bye, bye, Kasumi!" the dark haired girl shouted as she ran off yet once again. Kasumi shook her head slightly before wandering off again. 

Akane dodged into this room and that before making her way into the kitchen. Seeing her father and some strangers out in the garden deep in their conversation, she ducked behind one of the sliding doors and looked out the square doorway. 

Her father was talking to a strange couple with a little boy between them that looked about her age. The little boy had his hair in a little pony-tail and the woman had a large bundle behind her back. Her hand was placed like granite on the young boy's shoulder. Akane saw her father say something more to the couple before bending down and saying something to the little boy. The little boy nodded but his attention wasn't really on her father. It kept darting around the yard. Soun gave another sigh before standing back up again and saying something more to the man. The man nodded and without a word to the woman, took the little boy's hand and dragged him away, out of the yard. The little boy looked back as he was being dragged and waved to the woman. A tear glittered in the sun as it found its way down her cheek. She and Soun waved good-bye and soon, Akane could no longer see the man and the little boy, no matter how much she strained her neck. 

Confused and pretty bored by this time, she turned away and ran out of the kitchen. She made her way out of the house and out to her front gate. Akane looked this way and that down the street, but she couldn't see the man or little boy. With a child's logic, she decided they went down the street to the right and so she started her way there. 

Not looking where she was going, the little girl bumped into someone and fell onto her butt. How like her father. Akane's mouth curled up and the next second, she let out a blood-curdling cry. Her hands went to her face and she wiped dirt and dust to her eyes, causing her to cry all the more. The man she had bumped into bent down and took her hands from her face to make her look at him. 

Akane did so and in front of her was the face of a man with hazel eyes and dark greenish-looking hair. 

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

The little girl just shot him a glare before stumbling back up again. The man eyed her slightly before questioning, "What is your name?"

"Akane Tendo," she replied tartly and he just nodded without smiling. 

"Come on, Akane, I'll take you home," the man said without offering her hand and expecting her to follow him. The child considered defying him for a second, but decided better of it. She was getting awfully hungry.

When they reached her home, the lady was gone and her father was sitting on the front steps. 

Soun stood up when he saw his daughter and the tall man in front of her.

Akane stood between the two grown-ups and watched as the green-haired man put his hand out and said, "Tye Blue." Soun shook the man's hand solemnly and gave his name. 

"Can we speak in private?" the man asked Akane's father and Akane thought of telling the man that she wasn't going anywhere but Soun commanded, "Go inside, Akane." 

"But, dad-" she started but when Soun continued to look at the man, Akane decided to drop it and do as she was told...well partly. Once inside, she did as before and hid behind the door to watch her father and the man.

"Yes?" Soun questioned and the man replied impassively, "I wish to train your daughter, Mr. Tendo." 

"Why?"

The man's hazel eyes seemed to splash like paint on a canvas.

"There is something in her that calls out to me. My instinct never lies to me, Mr. Tendo. I must train your daughter and you must allow me this. It is the way things are supposed to be," the man said slowly with razor steel beneath his voice.

Soun brushed his hand through the air.

"Akane is too young for training."

"Nobody is too young for the Art."

"She is not strong enough."

"That is not for you to judge."

"She must learn her family's Art," Soun said as a final argument.

Sensing victory at hand, the man smoothed things over for the father.

"You may teach her her family's Art, but I will teach her everything else. Have no fear, Mr. Tendo, I will not train your daughter every day. I shall only come by here when the time calls for it. I will only come by and stay for the three months of Spring and then I shall be gone. However, during the three months that I train your daughter, you must give me command to do as I please."

"No, no, not my little girl," the father denied but the man named Tye just answered, "You are the one that has placed the curse on your daughter, Mr. Tendo. Now, it's just your choice if you want her to be able to protect herself."

Soun was not a stupid man. He knew that the man would not lie and he knew that the man would be able to teach his daughter ways of the Art that he could never dream of. The curse was definitely there. With what little experience he had in the Art, Soun could sense the bind in Akane. He felt it, but he never spoke of it. Neither did Genma.

"Yes, I give you three months each year until Akane's eighteenth year. By then, she should have learned all that she needs from you."

"That's all I'm asking for," the man said. Soun turned around in resignation to walk back inside his house, but halfway there he stopped.

Without turning around, he asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"I answered that question, Mr. Tendo. I come to those who call to me," Tye answered. Akane ducked and ran from the door as her father started inside. She didn't exactly understand what just happened but from that day onward, from March to May, that green-haired man was her sensei.

***

The four-year old Akane stood in the dojo in her little gi. Her stomach was pounding with giant, monster movie butterflies. A green-haired man had appeared at her doorstep yesterday and although her father looked pale, he told her she was to begin her 'outside' training today. Sure, dad's training was great but he never _really_ fought her. He just trained her to master her strength and Akane couldn't help wanting more. There was something at the bottom of her stomach sort of like hunger and a little bit of pain. She didn't know what it was, but she knew that the feeling disappeared a wonderful exultation replaced it whenever she trained. She never told her father this, though. She didn't think he would understand.

Her sensei entered in a dark green gi and he planted himself a few yards in front of her with his feet apart. 

"I assume you know the basic moves?" he asked her and Akane yelled happily, "Yeah!"

"Good," the man replied. "Because all that I teach you has nothing to do with the average Martial Arts. You will not survive with the average. I want you to know that nothing I teach you will be easy and will require your full concentration..."  
By this time, the man had lost Akane's interest and although her eyes were still planted on him, her mind started to wander. Where was Nabiki-chan right now? Kasumi sure was good at making sandwiches. Maybe she could get Kasumi-chan to make her lunch today instead of dad.

"...the neko-ken." Tye stopped talking and Akane looked at him in surprise. His hands were crossed and his sparkled with humor and amusement. The young girl was getting nervous. She had a feeling the amusement was going to be at her expense. 

"The first training will be quite simple, Akane." Here, Akane's sensei pulled out a cat from behind him and placed it on the floor in front of Akane. The little kitty was so cute, the child bent down to pet it.

"Do you like the little kitten, Akane?" Tye asked and the girl nodded.

"Good," he said before placing a small bowl of last night's leftovers in front of the cat to eat.

"Do you still like the kitten, Akane?" he asked again and Akane's answer was the same as before.

"You wouldn't wish to hurt the kitten, would you, Akane? It's so harmless and it hasn't done anything to you."

The blue-haired girl shook her head as her eyebrows scrunched up. Of course she wouldn't want to hurt the poor kitty.

"Good," Tye said again.

"Is that it?" Akane questioned in a disappointed, childish way as she stood up.

"Oh no," Tye answered. "There is still one last part. The most difficult part for the beginning of the training."

"What is it?"

Tye's eyes looked straight at her and although the humor was still there, she knew he was deadly serious. 

"You may drink water, but nothing else must enter your mouth for three straight days. You must not eat anything. Can you do that, Akane?" he asked her and Akane nodded. That should be easy. Kasumi and dad was always trying to get her to eat when she was playing. This should be a piece of cake. 

"You are dismissed for the day."

***

It had been difficult, but every time she tried to eat something, Tye had taken the food from her. The next day in the dojo, when her sensei placed the cat and its food in front of her, Akane felt the most irrational anger at the kitten. Why did this animal get food while she was so hungry? She wanted to hit it and then the anger passed and Akane was angry at herself.

The next day, she was so hungry, she told Tye that she no longer wished to study Martial Arts, but he just replied that the matter was out of her hands. She cried and she begged her father but nobody helped her. Kasumi had gotten in trouble for trying to give her a piece of candy. When she saw the cat again that second day, the child lunged at it, but Tye held her back, saying that her three days were not yet over.

The third day had been the most difficult with a screaming Akane running around the house. Akane had been anticipating the moment when Tye would bring her the cat and its delicious leftovers. This time, however, when she ran to grab the cat's food, Tye did not stop her. It should have been easy for her to beat the cat and get its food, but Tye failed to mention that the cat w as no ordinary one. That the cat w as a special feline. In the end, when Akane woke up again on the dojo floor with bloody scratches all over her body and tears all over her face, she could not comprehend what happened.

She was still hungry too.

Tye loomed over her and with crossed arms, asked her, "Why did the cat beat you Akane?"

"I don't know!" she wailed.

"Why did the cat beat you, Akane?" he asked again.

Seeing she was not going to be able to get away from the questioning so easy, the child stammered, "I-It had claws?"

"Why else?"

"It was stronger."

"Why else?"

"It was thinner and...more...um...quick."

"Why else?"

"It was smoother."

Tye's eyes sparkled.

"Right you are, Akane. You may go inside and eat until you are full. After that, you will start the training anew until you defeat the cat and get its food."

With a last glare at her sensei, Akane slowly got up and walked out of the dojo.

***

What Akane learned after her second training was that in order to beat the cat, she had to have the same assets as the cat. With her quick, child mind, she imitated the movements of the cat until after two tries, she beat it. Akane had been so happy with herself, but Tye just presented her with two cats to defeat which was even more difficult. After she defeated the two cats, he presented her with three. What Akane learned was that the cats were just as hungry as she and their only meal each day was the one she fought for. At first she felt sorry for them but that feeling quickly disappeared. It was either them being hungry or her and she would rather it be them. Besides, this was part of her training.

The day finally came when Tye presented her with the last stage of the training. Akane was doing her cat stretches outside while Tye dug the hole and brought the bag of cats over. He dumped dozens of the screaming felines into the hole and asked Akane once more if she was ready for this. She said she was and jumped inside. He nodded once before dropping the long strip of fish sausage into the hole.

There were screams and even Akane could not tell which ones were her and which ones were the cats, but one thought stayed in her mind. That no matter how much she acted like a feline, she was a human being. That was the thought that kept her sane, conscious and helped her master the neko-ken.

When it was over, Akane jumped up on all fours and with a smirk on her face, meowed at Tye. Slowly, however, she stood up on her two legs and with a whoop of joy, ran inside to tell Kasumi and Nabiki.

She did not see Tye's sigh of relief.

***

A six-year old Akane was skipping merrily home from Dr. Tofu's one day when she heard crying. She wandered around in curiosity before finding the most oddest sight. A little boy was sitting by the curve and sobbing in quite a pathetic fashion. The little girl did not hesitate before walking over and putting her arm around the other kid. The little boy pushed at her quite hard and Akane ended up sprawled in the street.

"Go away!" the kid screamed. Akane stumbled up as she shook with indignant fury.

"Well, fine!" she said before starting to march off.

A wail came after her.

"Ran-chan!"

The little girl rolled her eyes to the sky once before turning around and asking, "Who's Ran-chan?"

"Go away!" the kid yelled again. Akane didn't need to be told a third time. 

She turned around and started to leave when she heard, "Why did you lie?"

Akane flung around as she gave a groan. 

"If you aren't going to tell me anything, you should stop sending curious screams like that my way! Now, tell me or shut up!" The kid hesitated a second before looking up at Akane with large brown eyes and soft features. It was a girl!

"I'll tell you," the kid mumbled and Akane nodded once before planting herself next to the other girl.

"Good," she said solemnly, saying it in a way that Tye would say it. "Now, why are you crying?"

"Ran-chan lied and he left me," the other girl pouted.

"Who's Ran-chan?" Akane asked curiously.

"He used to be my best friend and he was supposed to marry me, but he and his father took my dad's cart and ran off. He didn't want me! I thought he would take care of me forever!" the wailing was starting to begin again and Akane had to do something to divert it.

"Um...where's your dad now?" she asked.

"Somewhere in the park, I guess. I ran away from him so I don't really know. sI can't go back now. I'm a disgrace to the Kounji name! You don't know how awful that is, being a disgrace. It's _awful_!" the Kounji girl nodded her head and emphasized on the word awful.

Akane scratched her head.

"Well, I guess it would be awful..."

"It is!" the other girl exclaimed. "Try to imagine the thing you love the _absolute_ best and imagine it being taken away." Akane thought about someone telling her that she wouldn't be able to practice the Art anymore and shuddered.

"I understand now," she said.

"Good," the Kounji girl said in a way that would have made Tye proud.

Akane thought some more about the other girl's situation before saying, "Well, you aren't happy now, are you? I say you stop being sad and be happy again."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"If it was me, I would go and give this Ran-chan a good butt-kicking. That would make me happy and it'll make my family proud." Before Akane had finished, the other girl had already jumped up. The blue haired child noted the other had a rather large spatula attached to her back. 

"You know? You're right! If it takes my entire life, I'm going to get Ran-chan back for what he did to me. Thanks," saying this the girl was about to run off, but then stopped.

"What's your name?" she asked Akane.

"Akane Tendo. What's yours?"

"Ukyo Kounji, but you can call me Ucchan. Do you want to be my new best friend, Akane?"

Akane jumped up and laughed.

"Yeah! Since I'm going to call you Uccha, I guess you can call me, Ak...Ac...Acchan."

"Great," Ukyo giggled but then her small face became sober. "But you have to promise me one thing, Acchan."

"What?"

"Whenever you come across a boy by the name of Ranma Saotome, you must hit him as often as possible because he might be that traitor Ran-chan."

Akane agreed and with a last, "Thanks, Acchan!" Ukyo left.

***

"Now, Akane, you are going to master the Art of dodging."

The seven-year old girl looked up at her sensei skeptically.

"Dodging?" she asked.

"Yes. Dodging is one of the best techniques in Martial Arts. If you dodge, you can not get hit. If you don't get hit, you can not be injured. If you don't get injured, you can not be defeated. Understand?" Tye said in a tone that meant it wasn't important if she understood or not.

"I think I understand," Akane said.

"Good. In the first lesson, I will throw some stones for you to dodge. In the second, the stones will come faster and I will have your father and sisters assist me in throwing them so that you learn to dodge more than one area. In the third lesson, I will tie your hands, feet and place a blindfold over your eyes. How do you feel about that?" his tone pretty much said that what she answered would not matter in the training.

"I feel okay," Akane grinned. How hard could it be dodging some rocks?

Tye's eyes flashed.

"Good."

***

Her feet dangling, Akane sat munching happily on the ice cream cone that Kasumi bought her. The top of the plastic umbrella table was sticky with the droppings of her ice cream and every now and then, Akane would look over at her sister daintily eating her own frozen yogurt. Sometimes the little girl would wipe her mouth with her sleeve to be more clean but that would only result in a messy shirt and an even messier mouth.

The blue-haired child felt a tugging at her sleeve and looking down she saw a little boy.

"Do you know the way to Osaka?" the little boy asked her.

"Osaka?" Akane asked before turning to Kasumi.

"Oh dear," the oldest Tendo daughter said. "That's quite far from here. Are you lost?"

"Yes..." the little boy mumbled. "I sort of wandered off from my mom and dad."

"And ended up here?" Akane shrieked. The kid had to be kidding.

"Akane-chan!" Kasumi reprimanded and the little girl blushed before saying, "Sorry, Kasumi."

Satisfied, the older girl turned back to the boy. 

"I think you better come home with us. We'll try to contact your parents," Kasumi said, orderly as ever as she stood up. Akane followed suit.

"What's your name?" she asked the little boy.

"Ryoga," he replied as the two trailed after Akane's older sister. His eyes asked her the same question.

"My name's Akane," she said and smiled. He gave her a semi-grin back.

When they got back to the Tendo household, Kasumi asked Ryoga for his phone number and luck of lucks, he remembered it! Efficient as always, Kasumi talked with his parents and planned a train ticket for him leaving that day. Akane followed Kasumi as she handed Ryoga to the conductor and told him that Ryoga's parents will be waiting for him at the station.

Leaving the train station, Akane thought she would never see that little boy again.

***

Two weeks later, it was raining when there came a knock upon the door. Akanr ran to open it and who should be standing there wet and cold, but the bandanna-clad boy from before!

"Achoo! Oh, hello again. I'm sorry but do you know where the direction to Osaka is? I got lost again," Ryoga said as he tried not to sneeze all over her.

Kasumi decided that it was too big of a storm to send anyone out so that night Ryoga slept in the guest room. The next day, Kasumi sent him back on the train again and Nabiki wryly noted that they were going to send themselves out into the streets buying this boy train tickets.

Akane waved good-bye to Ryoga, but somehow she knew, he was going to be coming back.

***

Sure enough he did three weeks later. Akane walked home from school when she saw Ryoga sitting on her front step. From then on he would appear every few days or every few weeks, depending on his travels. Ryoga told her that for some odd reason, he always found himself at the Tendo home. Of course, what he didn't know was that he crossed Tokyo just as many times as he crossed Nerima and he went by the Eiffel Tower just as many times as he went by the Tendo home. It just seemed as though he went by the Tendo home more because it was the only place that held any significance for him, maybe even more so than his own. His father and mother were always wandering and he would rarely catch them even if they did come home, but the Tendo family...they were always there.

Akane was no longer surprised when she saw Ryoga every couple of weeks or days, but it was in her thirteenth year that he stopped coming. She would not see him yet for another three years, but that is not to be told at this time.

***

Akane touched her left eyebrow to stop it from moving. It had been twitching all day which meant that something bad was supposed to happen. The girl wasn't one for superstitions, but it was really getting annoying. Instantly, the young girl's ears perked up at the sound of fighting. Smiling (for she hasn't seen a decent fight in quite a long time), Akane ran behind the houses and shrubberies to an empty lot. A crowd of people were watching a purple-haired girl beat up a little girl less than half her age. Well, Akane wasn't one to stand for injustice (but mostly because she needed a good fight).

The girl jumped in and quickly diverted the purple-haired girl's attention away from the little toddler. The purple-haired girl shot a few moves at Akane and happy, Akane ducked and toyed with her for awhile. Soon, however, it looked like the other was going to tire and so Akane made a few quick jabs and the purple-haired girl was flung a few feet away with her hands clutching the dirt. Hm...maybe she should have gone easier on her.

Trying to appease her guilt, the blue-haired Tendo girl said, "Well, you really shouldn't have beat up on someone so much smaller than you."

That was when the little toddler from before ran over to stand in front of Akane with fury in her eyes.

"Stupid girl no understand," she piped, her dark, red hair swaying in its loose buns. "It my test. Shampoo sister test me!"

"Huh?" Akane made the sound in puzzlement. By this time, the purple-haired girl had pushed her way up and made her way over to where Akane stood. She pushed the little pipsqueak of a kid out of the way so that she was directly in front of Akane. Her features were all cold except her lilac eyes which were dazzling with lightning. Akane felt nervous when the girl put her hands on either side of Akane's face. Was she going to snap her neck? Well, she better not. Kasumi would be angry if she didn't make it home for dinner.

The crowd gasped as the purple-haired girl placed a soft kiss on Akane's cheek and pulled back. Akane sighed. That was it?

"The Kiss of Death," the red-haired toddler from before mumbled with wide eyes.

"What?" the Tendo girl asked rather stupidly.

"Stupid girl," the toddler smirked. "Shampoo-sister give you Kiss of Death. Promise to hunt you to ends of Earth and kill you. Return honor to Shampoo-sister."

"K-kill me?" the ten-year old stammered. She suddenly noticed that most of the women (in fact, they were all women) in the crowd were staring at her with seriousness. She didn't want to die so soon.

"Does she have to kill me?"

"Yep," the kid answered with some satisfaction but Akane was no longer listening to her. SDhe was too busy dodging the purple-haired girl's attempts to maim and kill her.

Running away, Akane screamed, "Can't we talk about this?"

"Shampoo kill!" the purple-haired girl screamed in reply.

"Wait! You don't even know my name!" Akane yelled, beginning to get angry herself now.

Shampoo stopped her tirade and for a second looked quite innocent.

"Fine. What stupid girl name?" she asked, her voice childlike as it wasn't before.

Thinking it was over, Akane answered, "Akane Tendo."

Shampoo nodded once before jumping up and screaming, "Akane Shampoo kill!"

This time, however, Akane wasn't going to run away and so fought the purple-haired girl until she was unconscious (which was quite quick). Sighing, the Tendo girl carried Shampoo back to the lot where the crowd was and handed her back to the group. They said nothing to Akane, but simply nodded and took the girl. 

Looking at the sun, Akane noted how late she was and quickly made her way home.

The next day, a purple-haired girl appeared at breakfast (how she found out the resident of the Tendo home, Nabiki claimed not to know) and tried to kill Akane. Akane beat her again and brought her back to the group from before. A few hours later, it started all over again. Pretty soon, it was getting tedious and Akane's temper was really being stretched the limit.

Finally angry, Akane issued an official challenge to Shampoo that would end all ties. They met at the lot from before and thunder rumbled in the sky without rain or lightening.

"Akane ready to die?" Shampoo asked politely.

"No," the other girl answered in frustration. 

"Too too bad," Shampoo said before the smile shifted from her face and she jumped to attack-

-just to get pulled back by the collar. Akane stared at the writhing Amazon kick and scream as she was held up by her collar which was held by a wooden stick. An old woman was holding the other end of the stick.

"Shampoo, stop it," the old woman commanded and the girl quieted down with a pout.

The old woman turned to the ten-year old Japanese girl.

"Have no fear, child. Shampoo's kiss of death on you is now null and void. She is also banned by the tribe to make anymore Kiss of Deaths against you," the old woman said.

"Hiba-chan!" the girl screamed only to have the woman shoot a hard look her way. Akane watched as her rival withered under the stare.

"Yes, hiba-chan," she said with her eyes down.

"Now, come on, Shampoo," the old woman said as she placed the girl on the ground and started to walk out of the lot. Suddenly, she stopped.

"By the way, child," she said off her shoulder to Akane. "Say hello to my old student when you see him?"

"Who's that?" Akane asked.

The old woman grinned before starting to walk again.

"Tye Blue."

***

The eleven year old girl was walking to her first day in her new school. In the front yard of the school, she saw the students crowding around talking until the bell rung. Not really knowing anyone there and having no idea where Nabiki was, Akane leaned against the wall and waited. The crowd suddenly parted and between them walked a weird looking boy in a black and white traditional Japanese outfit.

"Who is this lovely creature thast my eyes behold?" he asked and Akane looked to her left and right to see who he was talking to. Seeing everyone's looks at her, she realized it was herself.

"Me?" she asked.

"The sweet maiden speaks. How dost my ears stand the sweet sound of heaven's bells?" he asked. "But I must have the maiden know my name! I, sweet maiden, am Tatewaki Kuno, the burning comet of Furinkan Junior High!"

By now, lightening had come across the sky and Akane wished it would zap him. The skies instantly cleared.

"What is thy name?" he asked Akane and she shrugged before answering, "'kane Tendo."

"What? You are related to the money-hungry Nabiki? How can this be so?" he cried. Akane ground her teeth. Nobody insults her family and gets away with it, but she didn't want to get in trouble the first day of school.

"She's my sister."

"Ah, but that must torment you so. Come and I will comfort thee in my arms!" Kuno exclaimed as he rushed toward Akane with his arms outstretched.

What he got in turn was hard blows across his body. Usually, Akane would have just planted a foot on his face and walked off but this guy _really_ bugged her. 

Standing over Kuno's twitching form, Akane looked to the other girls and asked, "Does he harass all of you like that?" They all nodded. Akane's eyes flashed with fury and her knuckles whitened as she clenched her hands.

"Well, if he ever does it again, yell for me and I'll beat him up for you, okay?" she said and the other girl's nodded. 

Thus, that was how throughout middle and high school, Akane was the girl's champion and they were hers. When Kuno made that announcement to the Kendo club about beating Akane Tendo to date her, all the other girls in the school threatened the boys if they touched one hair on Akane's head. Kuno, himself, was torn between love and hate of Akane. He was deeply infatuated with her but despised her for beating him so easily even when he tried his hardest. It was quite an odd situation for Tatewaki, but Nabiki was all to happy to make money off of his indecision. 

So, pretty much, everything worked out for everyone.

***

It was soon after Akane's fifteenth birthday that Tye came to her with her destined curse.

It was Spring again and Akane was ready for her training, but instead of training her, he simply told her that some balance must be kept and some boy somewhere was about to get a curse.

"What does that have to do with me?" she asked.

"Everything that boy does has to do with you," Tye answered which made no sense at all. He just told her that since if he didn't give her a curse now, she will soon end up getting one that would harm her.

"...to keep the balance between you and him," Tye said and Akane wanted to ask more questions but did not. It would be useless. 

"Now, I have to think of a curse that you would hate but would benefit you more than harm you. I, also, need to think of a trigger. Now, what do you hate?" 

Akane just shrugged at the question. 

Tye's eyes suddenly flashed again and Akane knew him good enough by now that whatever came next was not good for her. 

"I have this curse that you would absolutely hate. Are you ready for it?"

Akane was always known for her stubbornness.

"Yes," she replied.

"Good."

***

"I'm home!" the girl yelled as she jogged inside and changed into her gi to train. 

As she punched and destroyed the rocks, she heard some one behind her say, "There you go again, Akane. No wonder the boys think you're weird."

"So, why should I care? Not everybody thinks the world revolve around boys, Nabiki," the girl tartly answered.

"Really?" the second Tendo girl smirked. "Then, I guess you wouldn't be interested in-"

***

"-Fiancee?"

"Yes, the son of a very good friend of mine. His name is Ranma Saotome. If one of you would marry him and carry on the family Martial Arts, our future would be secure," he said and even though he said 'one of you', they were all looking at Akane.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Don't I get a say in who I marry?"

"No," was her father's simple answer and Akane considered the idea of becoming a wanderer.

"It's going to be okay, Akane," Soun said to soothe his daughter. "Ranma studies the same Martial Arts you do. You two will have so much in common and besides, Ranma will have much to tell you about his recent trip to China."

"Ooh, China..." Nabiki cooed, but Akane just looked away. So what! Shampoo had been from China too! Besides, she was probably better than him at Martial Arts anyway!

Near the house, the father and three daughters heard, "Let me go!"

"That must be Ranma now," Nabiki said and she ran out to meet him, followed by Soun. sAkane and Kasumi followed at a slower pace. All four of them stopped at the sight of a Panda holding a figure over its shoulder. 

"Father? Is this your friend?" Kasumi asked as Soun shook his head.

"Oh really? Then, the panda just decided to drop by? Yeah, happens all the time!" Nabiki shouted to Soun's denial. 

At that moment, the pandas placed the short figure in front of the Tendos.

"You wouldn't be..." Akane heard her father say.

"Ranma Saotome," the girl said as she looked away. "Sorry about this."

***

Author's Notes: There's more chapters to come, so just hold on. :) E-mail me! 


	2. One Good Fight

All About Akane

Chapter 2, One Good Fight

Author's Notes: Yep, another chapter to this little ficcie. I really know I should be working on SP, BD but there's a lot of pain involved for Ranma and Akane in the future fics and that's just not easy to write. (It's hard diverting destiny, you know). I read the reviews and yeah *smiles sheepishly*, I guess Akane does seem to have it easier than Ranma for the whole childhood situation. It will even out eventually though. Besides, Akane had Tye Blue as her mentor...Ranma had Genma for goodness sakes. About Akane's curse...it's not what you think...

Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. *sings* Not me!!! *stops singing*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The girl stood there in deep embarrassment and sheepishness as Nabiki pushed her way over to poke her in the chest. 

The Tendo girl turned to her father and commented wryly, "This is some boy, daddy."

Soun himself was too shocked.

"What? But...that can't be...but you're supposed to be a boy!" the Tendo man finally exclaimed.

"Dopes this look like a boy to you, daddy?" Nabiki said as she poked Ranma some more in t he chest. Kasumi gave a small, "Oh dear," but Akane had had enough of this. Years of being a girls' champion had gotten quite ingrained into her system.

"Stop it, Nabiki," she commanded as she made her way next to the girl. After saying that, the youngest Tendo girl smiled comfortingly down at the red-head.

"I'm Akane Tendo," she said, quite used to introducing herself to strangers by now. "You want to be friends?" The red-head gave a little smile herself and nodded.

The family and the panda watched the odd proceedings with interest.

"Do you study Martial Arts?" Akane asked, oblivious to the people watching her.

The other girl nodded.

"You want to spar a little? We have a dojo next to the house," the blue-haired girl suggested and in reply, Ranma answered, "Okay." The two left without so much as a good-bye to anyone else. 

The family and the panda followed in curiosity.

The panda was hoping the pig-tailed girl wouldn't embarrass his host's daughter too much.

The Tendos were hoping Akane wouldn't hurt the girl too badly before they got a chance to question her.

Ha.

***

The two stood facing each other in the clean, bright dojo. They both had different smiles on their faces. Ranma's was a smile of uncertainty while Akane's was one of eager anticipation. One thing was similar, though. Both their eyes held and undoubted victory.

"Don't worry," Akane said. "I'll go easy on you."

Ranma just continued smiling and said nothing. The two waited, both waiting for the other to attack. Neither did.

One was more patient than the other though.

Akane's eyes flashed once before she jumped and made a kick on the other girl's mid-section. Ranma dodged. Akane had been counting on that and with her other leg, moved to sweep Ranma's feet from under her. Ranma jumped up in surprise and Akane's high kick caught him straight in t he stomach. He didn't manage to dodge that one and his eyes widened. Akane through more punches his way and for every one that he dodged, two connected. 

Ranma didn't want to hit girls, but if he didn't, he would lose.

He would lose to a girl.

Ranma made up his mind in a millisecond and threw a kick at Akane. The girl spun around and deflected it with one hand. Barely. 

From then, it was a full out battle. It was a flurry of kicks, punches, dodges, deflects, blocks. For every punch Ranma got in, Akane's kick connected. It was almost scary for the people on the sidelines to watch. It was like watching something that they instinctively knew could not end.

Hours passed with the Tendos and the panda coming and going. Still, the two young, undefeated Martial Artists would not relent to each other. The panda got some hot water explained to his close friend and his friends daughter's about Ranma and the curse. The two fathers and two daughters talked about the engagement issues and Ranma's curse while Kasumi poured the tea. It was easy to agree upon Akane being Ranma's fiancee. After this talk, the four made their way back to the dojo where the two girls were still fighting.

After the third hour, Akane asked, "Tired yet, Ranma?" 

"Of course not," the girl huffed.

They both connected in mid-air and landed a kick on the other. Ranma and Akane fell down on the floor with a thud. Normally, the kick would have been to weak to hinder them, but they were both quite tired.

Annoyed now, Nabiki walked into the middle of the dojo, until she was standing between them.

"Move, Nabiki, I have a fight to win," Akane said, though she didn't get up. Ranma gave a snort of disgust but she didn't get up either.

"Sorry to interfere but I think you two are too dense to notice one important fact," the middle Tendo girl said.

"And what would that be?" Ranma asked.

"That you're both equals. In the literal sense of the word. Akane, if you think you can defeat Ranma, you're wrong and Ranma, you're not beating my sister either. You two could fight for the rest of the week, for the rest of the year, and still the fight would have no victor. Give it up...at least for the day and go take a shower. You both stink." With one final meaningful look, Akane exited the dojo with Kasumi in tow to get the bath ready. The fathers shrugged once before leaving also.

"Do you think she's right?" Akane asked after the others left.

Ranma shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess we...should call it quits for today. I still think I'm a better Martial Artist than you," she said defiantly. Akane smiled and the two stood up. 

"Same here," she said as they walked towards the door. 

***

"Why don't you take a bath first?" Ranma suggested.

"No, you're the guest. You take the bath. I'll go after you," Akane seemed nervous for some reason.

"No, you-"

"Akane, can I talk to you for a minute?" Nabiki asked. Akane took the opportunity to leave. Ranma shrugged before walking off. The Tendo girls watched her leave.

"Akane, I heard dad talking and I think Ranma's going to be staying with us for awhile," Nabiki said. The blue-haired girl just looked at her sister blankly. 

Nabiki wondered how her sister could be so utterly dense sometimes.

"You need to tell her about the curse, Akane," she put it bluntly.

Akane sighed and bit her bottom lip.

"I'll tell her..." she said.

At that moment, Kasumi walked by.

"Akane-chan, the bath's ready," she said. Guess Ranma decided not to go first, then. Oh well.

As she left, Akane threw over her shoulder, "I'll tell her oneechan. I will."

***

Standing next to the bathroom door was a snoring panda. Akane found that kind of odd but said nothing. She entered the room that was between the bathroom and the outside corridor. Failing to notice the stack of clothes by the hamper, the teenage girl took off her own and opened the door to the bathroom.

Instantly, she froze.

The naked boy in her bathroom did also.

He was bent over and they bother stopped breathing. 

The blue-haired girl turned around, closed the door and put her clothes back on.

She walked out into the corridor and stood next to the sleeping panda.

***

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" 

The scream erupted through the entire household and had everyone running to the bathroom. It woke the panda up. It made the boy in the bathroom wince as he quickly put on his clothes. 

Akane noticed none of this.

When her scream finished, she turned around and slammed the door open.

"Pervert!" she screamed at the boy who had been about to open the door. He blocked her punch and flipped over her. She made a kick that caught him in the side as he landed. The boy was pushed to the floor with his back to the other wall of the corridor. All the family members, including a heaving Akane and the panda stood over the boy. He looked up at them with glittering, blue-gray eyes.

"I'm Ranma Saotome," he said. "Sorry about this."

***

Everyone sat around the rectangular as the story of Genma and Ranma's ill-fated trip to Jusenkyo was told to Akane. It was also demonstrated. Next, came the more difficult part. Akane's engagement to Ranma.

"I am not marrying this pervert!" the girl shouted with a finger at Ranma.

"Yeah, well, it's not like a want to marry a masculine girl like you anyway!" came the retort.

"You jerk!" Akane shouted as she stood up and threw a punch Ranma's way. He dodged it and with a kick, sent her into the koi pond. The back of his head was instantly hit.

"What did I tell you about hitting girls?" Genma said sternly. As much as Genma could be stern.

"Yeah, well, she don't count," the pig-tailed boy said as she gestured to Akane. "Didn't you see the fight, pops? She's not a girl." 

"Oh dear. Not again," Kasumi exclaimed and both father and son turned to where she looked with confusion.

Akane stood dripping wet, but she was different. Her long hair had broken from it's bow and now stood behind her with flared edges. Her eyes were no longer brown either, but a dark black. There was a small grin on her face.

Soun gave a cry behind them and promptly started to cry.

"Hey, Akane, you okay?" Ranma asked. Akane turned to him a slow, sultry smile came upon her lips. She slowly walked out of the pond with moving hips and placed her arms around Ranma's. The other boy edged away slowly with a frightened mixed with shock look on his face. He didn't notice Kasumi getting her bandages ready from the cabinet or Nabiki's absence.

He did notice the large mallet that embedded his skull though. 

Akane's face contorted and she raised the mallet again, ready for the death strike when a kettle of boiling hot water came down her body.

Akane jumped away from the water, her eyes and hair normal now.

"Nabiki!" she shouted. "It doesn't have to be that hot!"

Nabiki's eyes were level.

"I think the situation called for it, Akane. Take a look at Ranma." Akane did so and gave a groan. Then, she noticed the mallet in her hand and immediately let it go.

"Are you done yet, Akane-chan?" Kasumi called from the doorway with a box of medical aid in her hand. "It's nice that you didn't kill him. It's rude to kill a guest on the first day."

***

The blue-haired Tendo girl stood over Kasumi as she placed the bandages on Ranma's forehead. After awhile, the Tendos and a cowering panda noticed the boy twitch and start to awaken. 

"Ugh..." he said as he sat up and clutched his head. "What hit me?"

"Uh...heh...heh...I did..." Akane laughed nervously. "Sorry." 

Ranma's eyes went wide as he remembered. She could have killed him!

"You could have killed me!"

The Tendo girls sighed.

Well, the Tendo girls excluding Akane. She was becoming more on the defensive.

"Well, I don't blame you for your curse so you shouldn't blame me for mine!" she exclaimed.

"You have curse?" Ranma said rather quizzically, his anger evaporating. Akane's anger evaporated with his.

"Yeah," she replied. "Cold as yours. Cold water hot water."

"You're daughter's been to Jusenkyo, Tendo?" Genma questioned and Soun burst into sobs again.

"Actually no. I acquired a curse through someone actually. It's really kind of hard to explain." Akane was starting to fidget now.

"So you turn into a psychotic, homicidal maniac when you get touched with cold water?" Ranma asked which earned him a punch to the face.

"No," Akane answered. "I'm just..."

"Evil," Nabiki said for her. 

"Thanks Nabiki," the 16-year old girl addressed her sister sarcastically. 

"You're welcome, Akane-chan," Nabiki said.

"Oh great," Ranma groaned. "I'm not only engaged to a violent tomboy. I'm engaged to a violent tomboy that wants to kill me."

"Oh don't take it as a personal thing, Ranma-kun," Kasumi said sweetly. "Akane wants to kill all of us."

*** 

The next morning, when Akane made her way into the kitchen from her jog, she saw a sight rare at her house. Genma and Ranma were sparring over the koi pond. Seeing it, Akane's heartbeat quickened and the blood in her veins started to rush.

"I have winners!" she shouted to them.

Almost immediately, Genma hit the water and Ranma stood to the side triumphant.

"Come on, Akane," he said with a smirk. "Let's see what you got."

Akane grinned too and the two met, their arms and feet flying. After awhile, Ranma landed a high kick and as Akane started to fall into the pond, she pulled Ranma at the feet down with her.

They both came up sputtering.

"Hey! You cheated!" Ranma cried out to the person on his right before freezing. Akane's hair was out of it's bow now and her eyes were darker.

"Eh..." the pig-tailed boy said as he started to edge away. Akane just gave him a hard slap before walking out of the waters and going upstairs to change for school. 

"That was odd," Ranma said as he seated himself at the table. "She didn't try to kill me."

"It's hard to predict what Akane's other form will do, Ranma. The only sure thing is she'll never ever act nice to anyone in that form," Nabiki said.

"Oh Ranma-kun," Kasumi said as she got breakfast ready. "You should go get changed or you're going to be late for school."

"School?"

"Yes, boy," Genma said, appearing out of nowhere. "You're going to school with Nabiki and Akane. Now go and get changed!" Fuming, the teenaged boy went and did so. When he was finished and got back to the table, Akane was already sitting there with uniform on. Her hair was still flared though. Nervously, Ranma sat down next to her and started to eat.

He didn't get to raise his chopsticks before Kasumi took the bowl of rice from his hand. and exchanged it with a another one. Instantly, a rather large knife headed towards Kasumi's head. The other girl ducked without so much of a blink of an eye and the knife embedded itself into the wall.

Nobody noticed except Ranma.

"You could have killed her!" he shouted. Akane turned to give him a look of disgust.

"That was my intention," she said before returning to her meal. 

Ranma returned to his food. If no one was going to make a big deal out of this, then he wasn't going to either.

When she finished, Nabiki stood up and pulled a kettle out of nowhere. She poured the hot water on a sputtering Akane.

"Try not to get wet again, Akane," she said to her sister before leaving.

Akane looked at the clock and with a shout, stood up.

"Come on, Ranma!" she said. "We're going to be late!" The boy trudged on behind her.

***

The two rushed down the street. Akane running on the ground and Ranma moving effortlessly on the fence.

"Why are you running on t he fence?" Akane yelled to Ranma.

"Because I want to. What? Can't you balance yourself enough to run on fences?" he asked with a beaming smile. Finally, he was better than this macho chick at something.

Akane shrugged her shoulder and said, "Of course I can. I just prefer the solid ground." Ranma gave a humph but said nothing. 

Suddenly, a splash of water stopped them in their tracks. The two turned to the old ladle woman who was walking back into her home. Ranma-chan groaned as she looked at Akane, expecting a murderous stare or a death-brining mallet. Instead, she was surprised to find Akane's face in a huge, warm smile. No, that can't be right. Her eyes _were_ darker and her hair _was_ flared at the edges. So, why wasn't she wishing all kinds of torture and death on Ranma?

Akane gave a shriek before grabbing Ranma's hand.

"Ranma-chan!" she squealed. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Okay, now Ranma was really shocked. Even the normal Akane wouldn't act this nice to him. Luckily at that moment, Nabiki appeared with a kettle in her hand and poured it over Akane. The other girl sputtered before she noticed she was holding tightly to Ranma. Akane immediately let go. 

"Did you see that?" Ranma asked Nabiki.

"See what?" Akane inquired.

Nabiki was looking shocked herself.

"Your other form acted nice to Ranma. It wasn't the fake nice to trick him either. I never saw this before. Maybe you should ask Dr. Tofu when you get Ranma some hot water," the middle Tendo girl suggested before starting to leave.

"Why don't you just give me some of the hot water left in that kettle?"

Nabiki turned around and put out her hand.

"Thirty yen," she said.

"What!" Ranma screamed. "But you gave it to Akane for free."

"Who said it was for free?" Nabiki said before turning around and leaving. 

"Come on," Akane said, grabbing Ranma's arm and pulling her to Dr. Tofu's office.

"Why didn't she charge you?" Ranma wasn't ready to let the subject go.

Akane sighed.

"The kids at school each pay Nabiki ten yen a month to make sure I come to class every morning as myself. If one person doesn't pay, she won't guarantee anything. It's a difficult situation," Akane explained before going inside the clinic to look for Dr. Tofu. Ranma just stuck his tongue out at her before hopping from one foot to the next. A hand suddenly latched onto his shoulder.

"Hello," a voice said and the pig-tailed girl turned around to find herself face to face with a skeleton. Ranma gave a shriek before jumping on t he door and holding onto it for dear life.

"Oh, you must be Ranma," the man behind the skeleton said with a warm smile.

Akane turned back into the room and yelled, "Oh, Dr. Tofu! There you are!" Ranma noted with curiosity as he got off the door that her cheeks were slightly pink.

"Well, hello Akane. Your father called and told me about the new additions to your household. Is this your fiance?" the doctor asked.

Akane's head shook.

"Only by our parents. If we had a choice, this engagement wouldn't even exist, right Ranma?" Akane said and the boy nodded. The oddest thing was that all Ranma could see was the image of Akane fighting him, her hair flying and he felt slightly...not hurt or insulted...but put back.

"So, what brings you two here? Shouldn't you be at school?" the good doctor asked.

"I need some hot water," Ranma answered.

Dr. Tofu's eyes brightened.

"Oh, of course. Mr. Tendo told me about that. Jusenkyo, huh?" he asked the younger boy as he got some hot water from the sink and poured it over Ranma. The transformation took place.

"Yeah," Ranma replied as he shook his head to clear the water.

"Uh...Dr. Tofu?"

"Yes, Akane?"

"Something odd happened with my curse this morning."

"Really?"

"Yeah...it...I acted nice to somebody."

"In your curse form?" the doctor asked in amazement.

Akane nodded. 

"Mm-hm. I didn't try to kill Ranma and that's really odd because I tried to last night."

Ono Tofu thought about this for a few moments.

"Ranma, were in you in your cursed form when this happened?" he questioned.

"Yeah, why?" the pig-tailed boy asked.

"It might be because of that. Akane, I think your curse form found a connection with Ranma's curse form. I do believe, the curse, not you, found comfort in knowing there was another curse around. Now, aren't you two late for school?"

"Oh yeah!" Akane exclaimed as she pulled on Ranma's hand. "We're late!"

***

"Out!"

Akane and Ranma stood outside the classroom as they held the buckets of water. Ranma looked annoyed while Akane was practically glowering with anger.

"This is all your fault, you know," she said.

"My fault! How?" came the baffled answer.

"I don't know, but it just is." That wasn't good logic, but hey, it worked for Akane. 

Just when Ranma was about to retaliate, he heard the most horrible voice yell out at the end of the hallway, "Evil cretin! How dare you get engaged to my beloved Akane. Now die!" Ranma looked towards where the voice came from to see a boy running towards him with a raised wooden weapon. He got into a stance ready to fight with a large grin on his face (it didn't matter that he had no idea who the boy was), when Akane stepped in front of him. With a few quick kicks, Akane had Kuno on the ground.

"Hey, no fair! That was my fight!" Ranma shouted.

"Yeah, well, it had to do with me so it was my fight too," Akane said before bending over Kuno. By now, the entire class had followed the commotion and was in the hallway.

"You're engaged?"

"Saotome, you sly dog."

"Why didn't you tell us, Akane?"

It kept going on and on until Akane held the bucket of water over her head menacingly. 

"I'll do it," she threatened and they all shut up. Akane turned back to Kuno.

"Who told you Ranma and I were engaged, Kuno?" she interrogated.

The boy mumbled something. She gave him a hard nudge on the side to get things moving.

"Nabiki Tendo," came the much more clear answer. Akane growled and ground her teeth, but said nothing. She waited a second before turning to the group of classmates again. This had to be solved and quickly.

"Listen everyone," she announced. "Ranma and I are _not_ engaged! Our parents arranged it when we were kids, but we're not getting married. Him and his father just live with us right now, but _nothing_ is going on, understand?" They all nodded patronizingly. Whatever you say, Akane.

The blue-haired Tendo daughter knew they w ere skeptical but didn't push it. They'll believe her in their own time. Now, as for Kuno-

"Akane Tendo! Die!" came the shout that was cut off too soon by Ranma's foot. Tatewaki fell to the floor again.

"I don't need to you fight for me!" Akane yelled in indignation which only caused Ranma to shrug.

"Same here, but it can't be helped. From now on, no calling battles. We fight when the opportunity calls. How's that?" 

Akane mumbled a "fine".

"Now, who is this guy and why does he want to kill you? I could have sworn he was jealous of me earlier."

The Tendo girl looked down at Kuno and bit her bottom lip.

"I don't know. Kuno's weird like that. Half of the time he's professing his love to me while the other half, he tries to 'eliminate my foul presence from this world.' His words, not mine. He's Captain of the Kendo club and one of the oddest boys I ever met. Did you know, he once tried to get the entire club to attack me?"

"But me put an end to that, right, Akane?" a girl shouted with glee and the others agreed. They were quite proud of themselves for that. _They_ could protect a strong Martial Artist like Akane. It's the exact feeling you get when you help your bigger brother or sister with a problem in their lives.

Akane gave a soft smile.

"Yeah," she said. "They look out for me and I look out for them."

Ranma gave a humph and headed back to the classroom.

"I take care of myself," he said arrogantly which caused Akane to just roll her eyes.

***

The two teenagers had been walking home from school when it started to rain. Ranma had been walking on the fence and Akane on the ground, neither saying anything to the other. Mostly, they were thinking about what Kasumi was going to cook for lunch. 

Ranma groaned at his girl form once before remembering about Akane's curse. He turned around just in time to see the blue-haired girl's gleeful form glomp onto him...er, her. The now-turned-girl started to blush and edge away, but Akane's hold was tight. This was not good. 

"Ranma-chan!" she squealed. Oh geez, Ranma thoght as she rolled her eyes. Akane should definitely not squeal...ever. Although...now that her face was so close to her and she was so happy, she looked kind of...cute. Why hadn't he noticed it before?

"Er...Akane? Can you please get off of me?" he croaked, his voice breaking in the middle.

"Oh, of course, Ranma-chan," Akane smiled and got off the red-head, though she held her hand. 

That was easy, Ranma thought. If only the tomboy would listen like that all the time.

"Maybe we should get back and get you some hot water now. Come on, Akane," Ranma said as he pulled his hand from hers and started toward the house. His hand was suddenly pulled and it jerked his entire back with it. He turned to see Akane standing there, her hand tightly around his own.

"Why don't you call me Akane-chan, Ranma-chan?" she asked nicely, but there was an evil glint behind her eyes. Ranma was suddenly brought back to attention about her cursed form. Anything had to be better than getting murdered.

"Um...o-okay, Akane-chan," he stammered and Akane smiled brightly. The pig-tailed boy shuddered. That smile wasn't warm like the one Akane gave when she was normal. This one was...colder...dead.

"Come on, Akane-chan. Let's head back now," he said and pulled her along. He really needed to find some hot water.

***

Kasumi ducked the death kick aimed at her head and greeted brightly, "Hello Akane! Hello Ranma-kun!" Akane just grumbled and waited patiently while the older sister poured hot water on her and Ranma.

As he shook his hair of water, Ranma commented, "Why doesn't your cursed form have any objections to turning back to you?"

"Why doesn't yours?" was Akane's retort.

"Because it's me. I'm not changing back to someone else."

"Same here," Akane said as though she was speaking to an idiot. "It's me. I'm not changing into someone else. My curse is me...just more evil. Kasumi, where's Nabiki?"

Kasumi said, "In her room. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, oneechan," Akane answered before making her way upstairs. Ranma just sighed and headed into the dojo to train.

***

Akane entered her sister's room to find Nabiki sitting by her desk, calculating her expenses.

"Well, hello Akane," she greeted just as brightly and calmly as Kasumi, despite the obvious fact that Akane was brimming with anger.

"Why'd you tell Kuno I was engaged to Ranma, Nabiki?" she questioned. 

Nabiki looked amused.

"Because I could. Anything else, Akane?" Nabiki's eyes were challenging, the dark pools of brown flashing with the same intensity as Akane...only different. There was more alike between the two sisters than they would ever know or admit.

Akane looked unsure.

"Um...I...I didn't want you to do that, Nabiki. Kuno tried to attack me and Ranma and everybody knows about the engagement," the youngest Tendo said hesitantly. Nabiki's eyes softened slightly, but Akane didn't notice. Akane couldn't read eyes.

Nabiki's voice was softer and more kind when she said, "They were going to find out sooner or later, Akane-chan. Best that it be now before Ranma settled down." Nabiki's softness was subtle and her comfort so invisible that Akane never knew she caught it. She did know her anger drained away, though.

"Okay, oneechan. I guess you're right. I guess I better head downstairs," she said before opening the door.

"Bye Akane," Nabiki said as the door closed.

The middle Tendo girl turned back to her expenses, but her thoughts lingered on Akane. The Tendo sisters stuck together. They were of one blood and they understood each other. 

That didn't change the fact that Akane was the baby, though.

***

After she bathed and changed into her pajamas, Akane went to the dojo. It was her job to turn off the lights and close it down for the night. When she entered the building, however, she saw a sweating, lithe form move across the floor. The female, Martial Artist watched the boy's movements with interest and a keen eye. How long had he been here? He had left right after dinner and she hadn't seen him until now. 

"You're a little slow on the side, you know," she commented and Ranma stopped. He didn't seem surprised to see her there. There was a smile on his face that Akane understood. Relief after a good workout.

"I said, you're sort of slow on the side. When you did that kick, you concentrated to much on it and left the other side weak. That can't be good with an opponent," she repeated.

Ranma snorted, "Like you could do better."

Akane stuck her tongue out at him before moving to do the kick herself. She discovered upon finishing that she had the same problem as Ranma.

Ranma was looking at her with concentration.

They both didn't want to say it, but eventually it had to be said.

"You're right."

The two teenagers broke into grins. That hadn't been as bad as they thought it would be. 

"I bet I can change it before you can," Akane taunted. Ranma's eyes flashed in a predatory way.

"You're on," he said and the two started to practice. They continued on into the night.

***

And while they fought, a million other things were going on in the world.

A girl was running after a moving train as she said good-bye.

Two kids were laughing as they threw popcorn in a movie theater.

Three people moved with revenge intent on their minds. 

A lot of things can happen in a few years time and not all of these things good.

A child could have twist the words 'beat up' to 'kill'.

A girl could have found ways around the 'no Kiss of Death to Akane' rule put upon her.

A boy could have built up his anger and anguish.

Of course, all of these were 'could haves' and might as well be as true as faeries are.

One thing was true, however.

While two teenagers trained in the Tendo dojo...three others did as well.

***

Author's Notes: A lot of you thought Akane's curse was going to be turning into a boy, huh? I got her current curse from a manga in Ranma 1/2 with the evil doll story. At the end, Ranma said something along the lines of, "I liked you better when you were evil. Definitely cuter." Something like that. Well, here Akane's evil half of the time and she seems to have a liking for curse forms. Wonder what would happen when P-chan shows up? :) 


	3. Piggy Pig Pigs

All About Akane

Chapter Three: Piggy Pig Pigs

Author's Notes: Argh! Why isn't the next chapter to Royal Servant working in my mind?! *grumbles* Well, here's the next chappie to AAA. Enjoy! 

Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Linma ran around the corner. If she didn't hurry, she was going to be late. She was supposed to be at the shop two hours ago, helping her aunt out. It was the third time this week that she overslept. She was beginning to think she needed to buy an alarm clock. Suddenly, a red umbrella barred her way and Linma and to turn the bottom of her shoes into breaks. She scooted to a stop and turned in annoyance to the one holding the umbrella. It was a boy and he looked sort of cute if it wasn't for the serious expression on his face.

"Excuse me, where is Furinkan high school?" he asked her. Was this guy serious? Linma let out a breath. It didn't look like he was going to let her leave until she pointed it out to him. Linma pointed to a large school to the boy's left with a sign in front that read 'Furinkan High School'. The boy appeared shocked for a moment before he started laughing. His arms gripped out and he laughed even harder.

Linma slowly inched away. No quick movements now.

"Ranma! Hahahahaha! I will get you now! You shall not escape the wrath of-" the boy stopped his laughter and something crossed over his eyes. Linma wavered between standing absolutely still or running for her life. She decided on the former.

Good thing, since Ryoga chose that moment to turn to her to ask his question.

"What district are we in?" he asked her. It seemed as though the question was very important to him.

"N-nermia," Linma stammered. The boy said nothing before a slow smile appeared on his face. Linma relaxed. He didn't look psychotic anymore.

"Nerima..." Ryoga said to himself, chewing softly on the sweet memory. How long has it been? He wasn't going to risk getting lost again. He turned to the girl who appeared aggravated for some reason.

"Do you know where the Tendo dojo is?" he asked her.

Linma's eyes narrowed. What should she tell him? 

"You mean, where Kasumi lives?" she asked suspiciously. Kasumi was a regular customer at her aunt's store. 

"Yeah...Kasumi..." Ryoga couldn't seem to be any more happy. He couldn't remember being this happy (heck, he couldn't remember being happy) for a long time.

Linma decided the guy couldn't be that bad.

"Come on, I'll take you," she said. "My aunt's store is near the Tendo home anyways."

***

"Come on, Ranma, you're making us late!" Akane yelled in exasperation as she pulled the boy out of the house. The pig-tailed Martial Artist appeared miffed...and bruised.

"I wasn't the one that bumped into Kasumi when she was carrying a bucket of water, all right?" he replied. Stupid tomboys and their stupid ways. 

"Yeah, well, who lost the match and then cheated by pushing me?" Akane retorted.

"Hey, I ain't no cheater-" was what Ranma said before they disappeared out of sight. 

Two seconds later, a bandanna-wearing boy turned a corner and stood in front of the large Tendo home with a green-haired girl who had led him, her hand on his elbow.

"So, there it is," Linma said, gesturing to the building. She saw the boy's eyes get teary. Linma backed away in nervousness.

"You okay?" she questioned. She really didn't want a complicated answer. She was late enough as it is.

Ryoga turned to her.

"Yeah," he answered. "Thank you."

"No problem," Linma said before running off.

Ryoga watched her leave for a second before turning to stare at the Tendo home. It's been so long. He thought he would never see it again. It was all Saotome's fault! Ever since he turned his mind and intent on Ranma Saotome, he just couldn't seem to find the dojo or Nerima anymore. It was just another bad thing in his life to lay at Saotome's door, but now...now he didn't know what to think.

_Go in,_ a voice inside his head urged. 

Ryoga took a deep breath and walked into the yard. Instantly, he saw a form that he knew had to be Kasumi sweeping the yard. For awhile, he just stood there with an open mouth. He thought he was going to start crying. Kasumi stopped her sweeping and turned around just in time to see him.

"Oh!" she gave a startled cry. Her eyes squinted in confusion as though she was trying to place him before finally widening in surprise and happiness.

"Ryoga!" she cried with a large smile, opening her arms. He smiled back at her before walking over to hug her. There was nothing inappropriate about this. He had always been like family to her and she to him. He was like Akane. He had always been like her younger brother and she had always been like his older sister.

They moved apart comfortably to look each other in the face.

"Did you get lost again?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye, the twinkle that no one noticed but Nabiki, Akane and him.

"No. I think I'm finally where I want to be," he told her and she beamed.

"Come on in. I'll put on some tea," she said.

Yes, everything was going the right way for Ryoga Hibiki for once.

***

Ranma yawned as the teacher droned on about something or other. His stomach grumbled in hunger just before his eyes closed and his head fell onto the desk. He suddenly felt something fly and scratch against his cheek before falling onto the surface of the desk. Ranma sat up and opened the wrapped piece of paper. It was a note:

_Pay attention, stupid. You're going to get into trouble. I'm not waiting for you if the teacher makes you stay after.- Akane_

Ranma scowled a second (not really, but he had to put up a front). He grabbed his pencil and wrote under Akane's note:

_Go ahead. I don't care if you stay after or not. I don't care if I get into trouble. Why aren't you paying attention? - Ranma_

P.S. Stop telling me what to do. 

He folded up the paper and waited until the teacher was no longer paying attention. Then, he aimed the paper at the back of Akane's neck and threw it hard. 

"Ow!" Akane shouted when the paper hit her. Everyone, including the teacher turned to her.

"Is there anything wrong, Tendo-san?" the teacher asked.

"No. I just bit my tongue," Akane replied sheepishly and the class turned it's attention from her. Akane shot Ranma a glare before picking up his piece of paper. It read:

_Fine! I won't then! Jerk!- Akane_

P.S. I am paying attention!

Ranma knew Akane was going to aim for him and so when he felt the paper whiz towards him, he ducked and it hit the person behind him in between the nose and the eyes. Ein gave a shout and stood up, his hands cupped over the place where the paper hit. Blood trickled down. The class and the teacher got up and ran towards him. Akane pushed her way through the crowd.

"Oh, Ein! I'm so sorry! I meant to hit Ranma, but-"

The teacher looked ready to explode.

"Out!" he shouted to Akane. The girl looked ready to protest but thought better of it. She shot a glare at Ranma before trudging out. The door gave a slam and Ranma winced.

For the rest of the school day, Akane acted as though her betrothed did not exist. No matter how much Ranma tried to catch her attention, she kept her attention away from him. Everyone knew something was bound to happen. Akane was not one to keep her anger to herself.

And something did happen.

As soon as Ranma stepped out of the gate, off of school grounds, the flurry of attacks began. Akane's anger had been held off for hours and so now burst open with a fury unlike before. Ranma had make quite an effort to not get hurt. 

"Hey, it's not-" he began before Akane screeched, "_Ranma!"_ A large fist came towards him. She's letting her anger affect her fighting, the boy thought as he dodged it easily, that was much too-

A kick landed hard in his stomach, sending him flying and landing into the brick wall of the school's gate, denting it considerably. Akane gave a growl of anger and stomped off.

"Stupid tomboy," Ranma muttered, senseless of what he was saying. He pulled himself off the wall and started towards home when another shout stopped him.

"Ranma! Die!" the person screamed as they rushed towards him.

_Geez, don't tell me she got splashed-_ only it was cut off as he dodged the heavy umbrella. 

Landing on his feet, Ranma stared in surprise at his opponent.

"Who-"

"Didn't think I could find you, did you? Oh yeah, thanks Kasumi," Ryoga waved a hand to the girl by the wall. Kasumi beamed.

"You're welcome Ryoga," she chirped. "Now, you boys play nice. I have to go buy some things for dinner." 

As soon as she was out of sight, Ryoga started his attacks on the pigtailed one.

"Hey! W-wait a minute! I don't even know you!" so said pigtailed boy exclaimed.

"Don't you? Don't play dumb, Ranma. First, running out on our fight and then lying. What a cow-umph!" Ryoga's impassioned speech was cut off by a foot connecting with his head.

Ranma jumped up, indignant.

"I didn't need your help, you stupid tomboy," he growled.

Akane jutted up her upper lip.

"No one was helping _you_, you jerk! I just hate seeing a weakling get picked on!"

This really riled the poor boy up. He shot a punch out at her shoulder which sent her flying backwards.

"I ain't no weakling!" he shouted as Akane jumped up and ran back, a bucket of cold water in her hands. Ranma jumped up and the water hit the floor.

"Nyah-nyah, you mi...ssed." 

Ranma's arrogant sentence was cut off by the pouring rain which came down. He looked down and picked at his shirt front.

"Not again," he mumbled just as he realized the full situation. The martial artist looked up in dread. Akane stood there, soaking wet and with the most delicious smile on her face.

"Ranma-chan!" she squealed as she launched herself at him.

Ranma-chan squeaked as the other girl attached herself to her.

Suddenly, a bunch of tiny little pig feet started it's attack on Ranma's face. The boy grabbed at it and threw it down.

"Where'd that pig come from?" 

As he said this, Akane let go of Ranma-chan and inched towards the pig. 

"Oh, what a cute pig," she said which caused Ranma-chan to scream, "_What!_"

Akane's cursed form picked up the pig and hugged it tight.

"What shall I name you? Hm...oh, I know! P-chan! You're wet P-chan. Let me take you home and..." as Akane rattled on, Ranma gave some thought to the matter.

Now...Akane's cursed form hated all things except anything that was cursed.

She does not hate the piglet in her arms.

Hey, where's Ryo-

"Give me that!" Ranma-chan yelled as she snatched the pig away.

"Ranma-chan?" Akane asked.

"Come on Akane," the redhead said. "Let's see who this pig really is."

"Kasumi, can you get us a kettle of hot water?" was Ranma's greeting into the Tendo home. 

"Why sure, Ranma," the girl answered.

At that voice, Akane's eyes narrowed, and with an evil little grin, started towards the kitchen. Ranma grabbed her back by the collar.

"Oh no, you don't. Just stay here or I'm throwing P-chan here into the streets," he told her. Akane pouted but remained where she was. She stayed good until she saw Kasumi walking down the hall.

"Die!" she yelled as she ran towards her sister. Kasumi took one step to the right and Akane ran straight into the kitchen. The clang of broken things could be heard. Ranma groaned but said nothing. Soon, Akane appeared again, but this time Kasumi poured the water over her head.

The youngest Tendo girl looked down at her hands, ready to choke, and blushed.

"Sorry, Kasumi," she apologized before turning to Ranma.

"Look at this, Akane," Ranma (who had changed during her absence) said. He poured the water over 'P-chan' and lo and behold, who should be there but a naked Ryoga. 

"Oh my. Ryoga! You shouldn't go around in public without clothes," Kasumi scolded before dropping a heap of his clothes on him. Everyone blinked once but nobody said anything. Explanations would only cause headaches.

Akane's mouth dropped open and she finally decided to use it.

"Ryoga?" she looked closer, much to the discomfort of the boy. 

"Ryoga!" she exclaimed, her suspicions confirmed, and jumped down to hug the boy tight. 

A punch pushed Ryoga through the wall into another room. Ranma looked at Akane defiantly.

"You always huggin' naked boys, Akane?" he asked. 

"Shut up Ranma," she muttered as she blushed.

Ryoga appeared again, this time fully dressed. He walked purposefully towards Ranma, but Akane blocked his way.

"Is that really you Ryoga?" she asked, her eyes glittering.

Ryoga looked down at her brown eyes for a second before looking at the floor and blushing. When had she changed? Why didn't she tell him? He nodded.

"So you're alive?" she asked, this time with a little too much sweetness. Ranma stopped in the middle of getting ready to interrupt their touching moment. He knew that sound. _Heh heh_, he thought. _Pig-boy's gonna get it now._

Akane pulled her mallet out of hyperspace and Ryoga realized all too late what was coming.

"Then why didn't you come back!" she yelled and the next second, pig-boy was flying through the atmosphere. 

"Um, Akane..." Ranma began as Akane trotted past him.

"Shut up!" she shouted as she punched him in the stomach and ran upstairs.

"I wouldn't bother her," Nabiki said to the heap plastered to the wall. "He really hurt her when he didn't come back." She turned back to her Nintendo game. 

"Stupid tomboy," Ranma grumbled as he headed upstairs to take a bath. "Always getting emotional over nothing."

Somewhere, a pig was pulling himself out of a lake and cursing the day Ranma Saotome was ever born.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somewhere in China...

"...look at her..."

"...do you think she could be..."

"...but they're just legend, aren't they..."

"...well, wherever she came from, I hope there's more like her..."

Shampoo heard all this but flicked it out of her mind like mosquitoes. She was used to such talk. Such as silly bunch they all were.

"Waiter! Check!" she yelled and the man rushed over. He had been waiting by the wall since she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am?" the giddy teenager asked. Shampoo rolled her eyes.

"I don't have time for this. Ring this up," she said. As the boy started to leave, she grabbed his shirt.

"Wait," she said. "Have you seen a pig-tailed redheaded girl here with a fat panda?"

The waiter scratched his head.

"Now that you mention it, yeah. They were odd," he said slowly. Shampoo grinned. It was about time she got some decent information.

"Do you know where they went?" she asked.

"Uh no-"

The waiter was pushed out of the way as another man ran to stand in front of the Amazon.

"But I did!" was the enthusiastic shout.

"Really?" was the sly prompt.

"Yep!' the man grinned. "Said they were heading to Japan. Some place called Nerima," he told her.

"Thank you," Shampoo chirped before dropping down some money and running off.

"Do you think she's married?" a dreamy-eyed spectator asked.

"Nah," another replied. "No guy could handle her."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Time to die, Saotome!"

The bloodcurdling yell chased the pig-tailed boy down the street. Nabiki stopped to catch her breath before running after the two again.

"Akane, wait!" she shouted, waving the kettle. "Ranma, I'm going to lose my month's pay if you don't stop her before she gets to school."

"I would if I could!" the boy snarled as he dodged a large barrel. "I'm trying my best just to stay alive here." Ranma's problem of immediate death suddenly vanished as an old lady threw cold water on him. Akane latched herself onto Ranma-chan's chest. Just when Ranma thought he could breathe safely again, another cry for his death rose.

"Die Saotome!" Ryoga screamed as he ran down the street. Ranma jumped up and landed (Akane still attached to him).

"I told you! I don't know you," was the exasperated response.

"How dare you lie!" Ryoga said before going into his story of the bread, and the fight and finally, his curse.

"Then to top it all off, you trick Akane to hanging off of you like some kind of doll," the bandanna boy said. Ranma had long ago, half through Ryoga's story, realized who the other boy was.

"Ryoga! Buddy! It wasn't my fault. I waited for you for three days and nobody made you follow me. You fell into the spring by yourself," the pig-tailed boy said.

Ryoga simmered and began to say, "Don't you lie-" when Akane's kick threw him off. He landed on the ground with Akane's foot pressing him into the neck. 

"Heh-heh," she laughed. "Poor little Ryoga's going to die."

Nabiki stopped in front of this scene and rolled her eyes. She was lucky nobody decided to sue the Tendo family thus far.

"Oh dear. Here Akane," she said as she poured the hot kettle of water over her sister's head.

This time Akane was not so apologetic. She slowly eased her foot off Ryoga's neck and with a 'hmph!' walked off.

"That's interesting," Nabiki commented. "Guess it's all you now, Ranma."

Ryoga jumped up and with the most furious of furious faces, he grabbed out his bandannas.

"Move Ranma!" Akane shouted as she ran and tackled the other girl.

THUMP.

They both hit the pavement and skidded till Ranma-chan hit a wall. Ranma groaned and sat up slightly. He noticed Nabiki's stare and Ryoga's angry look. Ranma looked down at the girl on top of him.

"Er...Akane..." hew started.

Akane blushed.

"What?"

Ranma touched the back of her head.

"What happened to your hair?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The cries of pain could be heard from the inside of Dr. Tofu's office. Inside, Ryoga was being put through physical hell.

"She really did a number on you, man," the pig-tailed boy commented.

"Shut up Ranma!" the other Martial Artist growled.

The good doctor looked surprised at the two young men's conversation.

"Akane did this?" he asked.

Ranma grinned and said, "Yeah. She gave me some bruises but I could hold her off...unlike pig boy over here."

"Ranma-" Ryoga said as he started to get up only to be pulled down by the good doctor. He gave a yelp but did not say anything.

The pig-tailed boy shrugged and walked around the room leisurely.

He tried to sound nonchalant as he said, "I wasn't the one that left her. What happened between you and that tomboy anyway?"

"That's none of your business, Saotome," spat Ryoga.

Ranma spun around quickly. His face betrayed the truth of his words.

"I don't care. Who said I cared?" he challenged them.

"You just did, Ranma," Tofu pointed out as he wrapped the last bandage on Ryoga's arm. Before either boy could say anything, a knock came on the door.

"Come in," The doctor said.

The door slowly opened and a young girl came shyly in. Her hand went instinctively to her hair as she judged the good doctor's reaction.

"Why Akane, you finally got a haircut," Dr. Tofu exclaimed as he stood up and grinned.

Ranma reacted first. His inquiring look had turned to one of astonishment.

"Akane!" he shouted. "What happened to you?"

It wasn't the best thing to say at that moment.

"Shut up Ranma!" Ryoga's elbow connected with Ranma's face before Akane could do anything.

"Thanks Ryoga," Akane said with a strained look. "Could I have a moment with Dr. Tofu?"

Ryoga nodded as he looked at them. How could he have forgotten?

"Sure," he told her as he dragged Ranma's body out. "I'll be right outside."

Akane closed the door and walked over to the patient's bed. She sat down. The good doctor sat down beside her. Akane started to cry.

The door slowly and quietly inched open.

Ryoga and Ranma watched the scene with bemused sadness.

There are some things you just can't fight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun shone down on Akane as she walked down the sidewalk. There was a bounce in her step today and even the dense boy following her realized it. _What's with her anyway? Crying one minute and smiling the next_. Ranma had decided it was best to steer Ryoga off in a random direction. He had something to tell Akane.

"I know you're there, Ranma," Akane finally said. The boy huffed and jumped onto the fence beside her.

After awhile he said, "So what was that?"

Akane stopped.

"What was what?" she asked him back.

"You know, with Dr. Tofu and-" he started but stopped when Akane began to laugh.

Ranma was instantly on the defensive.

"What's so funny?"

"Not you, stupid. The situation, I guess. I guess I'm finally over him."

Ranma did not have to ask who.

"But why?" he asked. "I thought...I mean...he...he's nice to you and..."

_Shut up, stupid. Shut up right now_, his mind commanded. 

Akane gave him a look of happiness tinged with sadness.

"You should see him around Kasumi, now that's something to see."

Akane heaved a breath and resumed walking again.

"It's finally over. I feel relieved...good even. Odd, huh?"

The two companions walked on silently for awhile before Ranma finally mustered up the courage to tell her what he wanted to.

"It...It shouldn't matter to you...what with...Dr' Tofu and all...but...I...your hair looks kind of cute like that..." he rambled on. 

Akane stopped again and gave him a dazzling smile.

"Thanks Ranma..." she said.

Ranma should have known that smile.

"...but you don't have to pretend to be nice."

The finger pushed at his forehead.

He fell into the river with a splash.

The boy sputtered in rage and indignation.

Akane just laughed before she realized something.

"Hey, where's Ryoga?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shampoo sat up in her seat on the bus.

The male passengers that had been watching her turned their attention guiltily to other things.

"Nerima Japan? she said to herself before a large grin spread over her face. It was the grin of a fat cat ready to bag the mouse.

"Heh-heh-heh," the Amazon laughed to herself as she settled back into her seat.

"See you soon, Akane," she sing-songed.

The bus rolled on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


End file.
